


Four Horsemen in Gotham

by Simbeline



Series: The Gotham Apocalypse [1]
Category: Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Genre: Four Horsemen AU, Gen, Inspired by basically anything I've ever read that had the Four Horsemen in it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-23
Updated: 2014-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-16 18:40:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1357864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Simbeline/pseuds/Simbeline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of Gotham's almost-apocalypse, from the perspective of four immortal, conceptual beings. From a kink meme prompt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Four Horsemen in Gotham

**Author's Note:**

> For the kink meme prompt [here](http://tdkr-kink.livejournal.com/2798.html?thread=1863662#t1863662): Four horseman AU:  
> Famine - Selina ('a girl's gotta eat.')  
> War - Barsad (-'you don't have enough men' -'no, but you do :P')  
> Pestilence - Jonathan Crane ('that's not my diagnosis')  
> Death - Robin John Blake ('your appeasement plan might not work so well')
> 
> I posted this there about a year ago, as drabbles grouped by character. Here's the whole thing in chronological order. I've been tinkering with it for a long time, and though I think stylistically it's pretty weird, I still like it as-is. I'm currently in the process of writing a sequel to this, and actually I wrote the ending for that sequel when I was about halfway through this. If I can't manage to finish the sequel as a complete story, I'll probably just post the bits I have as future vignettes.
> 
> This story was probably inspired by a bunch of different versions of the four horsemen, but I read Good Omens about a month before I saw the prompt, so I think that was a big one. 
> 
> Also, Velificantes over on tumblr made [four amazing pieces of fanart](http://velificantes.tumblr.com/tagged/four%20horsemen), and was responsible for me getting off my butt and posting this. Also many thanks to Sibilantly, who beta'd some of this and was a general sounding board. I did most of the editing, but I'm lazy so there might still be some mistakes. Sorry. 
> 
> This is Gen, except for the canonical sex between 'Miranda' and Bruce, and both it and the sequel will likely stay, textually, Gen. However, there's certainly room to read into it any pairings you like.
> 
> Edit July 15, 2015 - Fixed most or all of the formatting issues, finally. I didn't realize it was that bad, something got screwed up between my document and AO3's. Sorry about that.

**THEN**

**Death**

Robin John Blake had only been, well, himself for a short period of time, relatively. That is, if we’re speaking of being Robin John Blake in particular. He’d certainly been Death (capital D on that, thanks very much) for much longer, although he couldn’t say exactly how long on that count.

He’d been Robin for fourteen years, though, and was quite enjoying the experience.  Sure, he was an orphan, but being Death made the whole issue of his parents’ death a bit stickier. He was, after all, the one who'd taken their souls On.

Then again, he took everyone’s souls On. He barely even noticed anymore, most of the time. He could be Robin, sitting in his room completing pointless homework, and also somewhere in India, taking the soul of an old man surrounded by his family, or maybe in  Australia where a young and very drunk soul just died in a car crash, or in Afghanistan in the aftermath of a skirmish, taking the souls of rebels, soldiers and civilians alike. He hardly even noticed being Death anymore, since he’d been it for so long.

He noticed being Robin, though, and it was certainly very odd to find yourself caring about yourself, and your life and other people around you. While he would always take souls on when they died - being Death didn’t give you authority to go around breaking the rules, after all - he found himself desperately trying to prevent those around him from dying in the first place. When he saw Pestilence lingering at the shoulder of certain boys, he would ensure their illness was noticed at the first sign and cared for, rather than hidden away. It was a bit odd, to be working so hard to prevent death in the human, physical sense, but he almost couldn’t prevent himself from trying.

He also noticed Gotham.

It was strange to notice the world around him. He certainly hadn’t noticed much of anything for quite a while. (He remembered last "noticing" when there were suddenly quite a lot more people who stubbornly thought they weren’t dead and had decided that moving On wasn’t for them. Then he got used to just moving people along a little more firmly and went back to not noticing.)

Gotham, however, he noticed. Maybe it was just because he’d finally decided to try out this whole "human experience" thing. (War had been talking about it for ages. Then again, War spent most of his time as a human, jumping from war to war and accidentally causing them if he happened to go somewhere where there wasn’t a war. He might not have, however, suggested trying out being a human from childhood, it tended to warp perceptions.) So Robin was being a human, and human-Robin not only noticed Gotham, but liked it.

The reason for that was even harder to pin down than the noticing. Certainly there was plenty of death in Gotham, but that didn’t mean he liked it, really. Death just was, and what it was (whatever that is) was something that couldn’t be liked nor hated.

In a way, though, Gotham just was too. It was partly the city, and partly its people, millions of hopes and dreams making their way through the souls of its citizens like a beating heart, and all under a shadow. The city had a hazy malaise over it, even when nothing particularly bad was happening. That was part of its charm, though. The city ever reached for the light even in the darkness.

As for Batman, well, he was the symbol of Gotham  - a dark soul, and certainly a moody one, but good nonetheless.

\----

When Robin saw Bruce Wayne, Death saw Batman, and they both knew.

Robin might have known anyway, he both wore a mask and was a mask in many ways, but Death could see Bruce Wayne’s soul, and knew immediately.

Robin-the-human couldn’t help but admire the man, he was trying to take care of the city and its people, in much the same way Robin was caring for his orphanage.

Perhaps one day, he could care for the city too, in his own way.

\----

At sixteen, he started going by John. It wasn’t so much that he'd disliked the name Robin, although he'd certainly had enough of the bird jokes when he was younger, but he felt John suited him better. It was innocuous. Anyone could be John, and they could be great or ordinary, but no particular impression would be left by the name alone.

If Death had a name other than Death, he thought it might be something like John.

\----

At twenty-two, John gathered enough money to go to Gotham’s police academy. It  wasn’t exactly Batman, but perhaps he could help protect the city all the same.

 

**War**

He was at war. And was War, but that was beside the point. He’d gotten rather tired of modern warfare, to be honest. In years past he’d been quite bloodthirsty, ripping through anyone in his path with sword, or axe, or later rifle, or machine gun, leaving the injured, the dead, and the "lucky" ones left behind him. But he'd realized War was often cold and dispassionate, all sides doing their best to kill each other without getting their hands too dirty. Other times, the war was empty because it was all about money, and men fighting for money’s sake alone were a passionless bunch.

So he travelled through places where war was gritty, immediate, and largely unnoticed.   He found himself liking the more personal wars too, where in the past he’d often thought them too small in scale.

Somehow he found himself as the same man, for more than just the duration of a single battle, for the first time in years. He worked as a mercenary, but one that took up meaningful causes behind men with passion.

Through that, he found Bane. And Talia.

They were ruthlessness and compassion. Cruelty and caring. Keen intelligence hidden by a facade. Passion, but also coldness. When he looked at Bane and Talia, he felt his own passion stirring, he felt... something. Which was amazing all on its own. Bane and Talia made him feel something, a shade of their own passion; a shadow of their dark fire.

He found himself wanting to stay by their side, not only when they fought, but when they planned, and when they dreamed. He wanted to stay Barsad, to walk behind them and protect them, to take up their causes and fulfill their dreams. Barsad found himself caring.

It was a strange, but also wonderful feeling.

 

**Famine**

Wherever Selina went, there was hunger. Often for food - that was certainly in short supply almost anywhere you went to one extent or another.

Often it was for other things.

More than anything, what people always did was want. They wanted food, or money (that was a popular one), or clothing, or a job. Some people had enough that they wanted games, or toys, or some new electronics gadget, or new shoes.

The rich, though, almost always had what she thought were pointless wants. A man could have more money than he could spend in two lifetimes and still hunger for more, protecting his hoard like a dragon.

It annoyed her.

\-----

She honed her more human skills at first out of boredom. Then, because she wanted a legitimate, human way to take down guys who were being assholes. There’s nothing quite like throwing a guy twice your weight over your skinny little shoulder to make him feel humiliated. Sure, she had knocked a few out with her abilities as Famine (overwhelming people with hunger tended to make them pass out), but they think it was all some crazy dream they had and pull the exact same shit over and over again. Throwing a guy into a wall in front of his buddies, though? That made them think twice.

Once, as a bit of revenge, she broke into a guy’s house. He’d been crowing all night about how he’d acquired some piece of art or something on the cheap because he’d forced the previous owner into bankruptcy. She might not have cared, but she’d also found him out back trying to force a struggling girl into his car. Her yell had made him rabbit, but she'd felt he needed to pay a bit more than that.

So she took his painting, and she did it the human way. She could have probably even done it the non-human way and the tangible loss would have still made an impact, but the brief glimpses of her easily sneaking through security made it sweeter. She liked the thrill, liked the lifestyle, liked planning and pushing her body to pull off a heist.

So she took things. Sometimes baubles, sometimes something precious. Sometimes it was for a particular reason, sometimes it was just because she could. She ate away at the feet of the rich, and that was enough.

She did find it comforting, at least, that they would all die the same in the end.

Still, she often found herself wishing they would know true hunger.

 

**Pestilence**

The term "mental illness" was perhaps the greatest thing to happen to language. He never would have thought that decay of the mind could be his realm the same as the body. Almost anyone could be deemed "mentally ill" for one reason or another  -  and if they were still socially functional despite their "illness"? Well, that could be fixed.

Fear was disease more potent than any he had used or invented before. It trapped the mind and stressed the body, and it could cause a whole host of side effects  even after it was gone. The memory of intense fear was like a relapse, creating uncontrollable impressions and reactions that could be dulled but not forgotten ;  controlled but never completely suppressed.

And it spread beautifully.

He was Scarecrow. He was nightmare and illness and disease.  "Fear is the mind killer," indeed.

He’d originally made the fear drug to more reliably induce potent fear in his patients. He could influence them, of course, but inducing a powerful mental state tended to have unfortunate physical side effects - like death. And then they’d get taken off to the hospital or the morgue  and he wouldn’t be able to reduce them to gibbering, fearful messes in the name of science anymore. The drug, however, worked faster, better, and cleaner than his influence alone did.

He lowered himself to work for people like Ra’s al Ghul because it suited him; because he wanted to see what it would be like to see a city trapped in fear. Of course, it didn’t really work out, but he’d had a bit of fun all the same. Getting hit with his own drug was a strange and interesting experience - it affected his human body and so to some extent affected the rest of him. Once he was sensate again, he discovered he’d rather accidentally invented a new strain of malaria (interesting, he hadn’t thought of that mutation before), and caused outbreaks of all kinds of illnesses. Hm, maybe he should do more drugs?

No, Death would probably get annoyed with him if he started making too many new diseases at once. He was fairly certain Death should be more appreciative of his efforts to cause deaths than he was - wasn’t that the point of Death?

 

**NOW**

He’s in jail. Sort of.

He would be just in jail if he wasn’t, you know, everywhere where there’s disease at the same time.

So it’s not that boring.

Not as exciting as causing fear using various drugs, and tricking the mob into selling them, maybe, but not too bad.

He stays there mostly because he can feel Death in the city. A few years later, he can feel Famine. A few years after that, War. He’s always paid more attention to where the Others are than they do. Maybe they don’t even know he’s here.

The four of them, though, in one city? Serendipitous. And you can guarantee that something interesting is going to happen with all of them around. They exert a force on the world, just by existing. No matter how good their control, some of their essence leaks into air.

With just him, it usually means more people get the flu.

With the addition of the others, though... well, things could get interesting.

Gotham certainly is the place to be.

He smiles.

 

**War**

Once events are in motion, Barsad finds Bane-without-Talia is a shadow of Bane-with-Talia. They are each other’s light, and when they are apart Bane draws a wall over his more gentle side that cannot be moved until they are reunited.

Barsad wishes he could help him. He would say he's friends with Bane, but he is not family, for all Bane calls him "brother." Bane trusts him with much in the professional sense, and trusts none but Talia in the personal one.

It makes him harder on the men, and colder toward the workers. They are a means to an end, yes, and their strength or lack thereof is not Bane’s responsibility, but Barsad feels Bane would be kinder to them if Talia were here.

His glance at Bane when he sends the body to follow the Commissioner's is nervous. Barsad will be loyal to this man to the end, but others will not like how callous he is with those who follow him.

 

**Famine**

Selina hires herself out occasionally. Daggett is slime, but also a bit cliche. He wants more money, more power, and more respect - and he wants Bruce Wayne’s fingerprints. Well, she can oblige one idiot rich boy in favour of screwing over another idiot rich boy, and it had the added bonus of providing her with a clean slate.

She doesn’t want it quite as much as she played to Daggett - he wants to feel in control, so she let him have that.

She could screw him over later.

To be honest, though, Selina had grown attached to this face, and she would prefer not to leave it behind if she doesn’t have to. She can easily slip out of any jail cell, become incorporeal for a few years - but she doesn’t want to. Selina wants to keep this life - and didn’t that make her a tragedy of an immortal, conceptual being? Pestilence would probably be disgusted at her human attachment.

So, the clean slate.

Still, she also knows that Daggett isn’t the brains behind this operation. He can work the business world and sell his face and his products like the best of them, but this doesn’t seem like his idea.

So she pokes around. Curiosity might kill a cat, but she has way more than nine lives. She isn’t worried.

She finds Bane, who is terrifying. Not because of his size or strength, mind you, although he could certainly kill this body if he wanted to, but because he wants... nothing.

Well, that isn’t true. He wants things, but he wants them because someone else wants them, someone she can’t see and can’t sense, and the reflection of these desires in Bane makes them difficult to read.

A man who is completely content, but drives himself with astounding passion toward the goals of another.

Terrifying.

On the other hand, it's also how she met War again - sorry, _Barsad_. He's following Bane around like a duckling, which she doesn’t understand at all. He's different, though, than when they last rode together. She's different too, she supposes.

They acknowledge each other from a distance before she slips away.

War had come to Gotham.

\----

Okay, so Wayne turns out to be not as much of an idiot rich boy as she thought. He doesn’t want money, or power - except maybe the power to turn back time. He wants to not be alone almost as much as he wants to be alone, which must make him such a wonderful example of a person with _absolutely no issues at all_.

Selina takes the pretty pearls in the safe after she’s got the fingerprints. It’s indulgent, but it’s not like they’re worth that much.

She ignores the part where Wayne doesn’t care what something is worth, in terms of money, anyway.

He legitimately startles her when he finds her, though. Just for that, she knocks him over before running away, instead of just running away.

Sucker.

\----

Stryver is an ass. A double crossing ass, the bastard.

Not like she wasn’t prepared, but she was still really, really annoyed.

When the police break down the door (finally), she cries hysterically, and gets totally ignored. Police tend to ignore "victims" when there’s still people with guns about, and with her being a) crying and b) a woman she fits nicely in the poor traumatized girl check box.

As if.

She sees Barsad using a big ass gun during her escape. She wonders briefly if he was supposed to kill her if she got out, but it doesn’t really matter.

Once the rush is over she realizes with a jolt that she walked right by Death.

War as a mercenary totally makes sense, but Death as a police officer?

What is he even thinking?

 

**Death**

Being a police officer isn’t exactly what he expected. There’s a lot more sitting around, and politicking, and paperwork than actual city-helping. Not that anyone will admit police officers in Gotham exist for more than chasing down small-time crooks and eating donuts.

People are still dying.

John first realizes it when Death notices that someone he knows is dying. A boy from the orphanage. And John? John feels... sad. He doesn’t regret taking the boy’s soul On, but he does regret that he won’t be able to see the boy the soul belonged to anymore.

He’s changed.

John knows where the boy died, but he doesn’t know where the body is, and finding it is still a shock. He sees a body, wearing the face of someone he spoke to, and played with, and cared about - but it’s just a shell.

It’s perhaps the first time he’s ever seen death in the way humans see it.

And later, he’s angry. He’s angry at Foley, for being a blind idiot, and the whole police force for going along with it because they’re scared (or also idiots).

He’s pretty  angry at Bruce Wayne, to be honest. He’s angry he shut himself away from the world and abandoned the orphanage, and boys like Jimmy had to be forced out into the world too young. He’s angry he won’t get off his ass and figure out what’s going on.

He’s angry Bruce isn’t Batman.

When he feels Gordon’s life fading, he knows he has to do something about it. Gordon has some stains on his soul, some things he regrets, but he’s the only man in this whole big mess John isn’t mad at, and John wants him to live.

Gordon isn’t dead yet, and John saves him in a human way, so he’s not breaking any rules.

He’s glad he didn’t have the opportunity to find out if he _would_ break any rules, if pushed.

He’s changed too much.

 

**War**

When Barsad goes to find the bodies, he has the strange feeling he should have noticed something earlier. Like that Death was a police officer, maybe.

He watches Death pull the Commissioner's body from the sewer, get him breathing and call for backup. The old him might have been disgusted, that one of them would put so much effort into saving one human, but he can’t really throw stones.

If Bane or Talia were dying, and he had the power, he would save them.

He can tell when Death sees him, and he waits for a reaction, but Death just continues helping lift the Commissioner into the ambulance.

Then, after everyone has left, he walks over. They stand looking at each other, both at the human forms they’ve chosen to take and true self beneath.

"Barsad." He finally says, gesturing to himself - may as well let Death know what he’s being called now.

"John." Death replies, "It’s been a while."

"Yes, it has."

John quirks his mouth, "Do I want to know what you’re doing in Gotham sneaking around the sewers dressed like a mercenary?"

"What, don’t you think it suits me?" Barsad grins. He’d always gotten on well with Death.

"Oh, it suits you," and John’s smile disappears, "I’m just wondering if it means you had anything to do with what happened to Gordon."

"Well, it wasn’t me but... there is a great man, in the sewers. I follow him, and he would prefer it if Gordon died." Barsad already knows John wouldn’t take Gordon’s life on his say-so, but he feels the need to try.

"A great man, hmm? I’ve never heard you say that. You’ve admired people for being leaders of war before, but never for being men." John’s tone is curious but not accusing, for which Barsad is grateful.

"Well, I’ve changed in the past few years. You seem different too, I never thought I’d see you preventing a death."

"You’re right. I’ve changed. Pestilence would probably happily berate both of us about it for the next millennia, but I... care." John’s face twisted up. "About people." He hurried to add, "Just certain ones but... I want them to live until they’re old, and not die for stupid reasons."

Barsad looked away, "Yeah. Me too."

There was an awkward silence.

John cleared his throat, "Well I’ll uh, see you around."

"Perhaps."

Barsad ducked back into the sewers.

 

**Pestilence**

He can feel events are in motion, people can feel that something is going on, even if they don’t know what it is, and they feel fear.

Maybe he could have just a little bit of fun?

He pushes on certain people. He pushes on Foley, and makes him too afraid that Gordon might be right to actually do anything useful. He pushes on Gotham’s poor, makes them sick, and fearful; makes them resent the power of those above them even more.

He’s being very, very subtle about it all. Later, he feels Death’s awareness brush over him.

He can feel Death is worried.

Silly, why not just enjoy the show? This is shaping up to be the most fun he’s had since he invented HIV.

He wonders if he should break out of jail. Better wait, something big was going to happen soon, and it was bound to be chaotic. He could break out then.

 

**Death**

After seeing War near the sewers, John does some thinking. How strange is it that the two of them both gained some semblance of humanity around the same time?

He’s not a big believer in fate, people aren’t "fated" to do anything, including die, but it seems like an odd coincidence.

In his apartment, he stretches his senses to feel War beneath the city, and pauses. He feels Famine, and Pestilence.

They’re all in Gotham at the same time. It wouldn’t be quite so special if it wasn’t the first time in almost forever. There was hardly ever even two of them living as humans at the same time much less all four of them, much less in the same place.

John might be freaking out, just a little.

It can hardly be luck that War and his "great man" arrived just when weird, disturbing things were happening. Trouble was brewing in Gotham, and Batman was still holed up in his stupid mansion not speaking to anyone.

Well fuck that. Bruce Wayne would talk to him whether he liked it or not.

 

**Famine**

She goes to a charity thing. The whole business with Bruce Wayne has been bothering her and she needs to spend some time around the shallow and vapid section of the elite. Selina picks her mark, and spends some time chatting. The party is apparently thrown by one Miranda Tate, a foreigner who some scathingly call a bleeding heart.

Selina sees her talking to a dark haired man on the balcony above, and realizes with a start she can’t get a read on her. War is shrouding her  soul, making Seline unable to get a read on her as Famine.

Well, well. It’s certainly telling that War is protecting her - could this be the reflection in Bane’s mirror?

Either way, Miranda Tate certainly isn’t your average rich socialite, and her integration into the  elite suggests their plan has something to do with the rich.

Maybe even a change in leadership ?

She’s so busy splitting her attention between her date (with his wife’s lovely diamonds in the bank) and wondering what War, Bane and Tate are up to that she doesn’t notice Wayne’s sucking, lonely black hole until he cuts in.

Asshole. Coming out of the house just to mess with her. Although... right now he’s mostly wanting to protect Gotham. Strange. Well maybe his ‘powerful friend’ could actually do something.

She’s angry, but she decides to throw him a bone, and implies she knows more about what’s going on than she really does. Well, she does know where to find Bane, but not because she’s ever met him.

He still pisses her off when he takes the pearls back, though. If she looks better in them, why can’t she keep them?

She takes revenge by stealing his car.

It’s a pretty nice car, but not as nice as those pearls.

 

**Death**

John was still frustrated after his talk with Bruce.

He wasn’t being entirely truthful about his own feelings, of course, but he couldn’t exactly say "Gosh, I didn’t care about my parents’ deaths because I hadn’t learned to care about anyone yet. But I care about people now, honest!" or "I knew you were Batman because I am Death and I can see your soul."

Both of those things would have gone over _so well_.

Plus, he’d been around enough orphans to know how they felt, and he was angry _now_ so he thought that if he’d know about caring back then when his parents actually died he might have gotten angry about it.

He certainly knew a lot about masks, so that part was the truth.

\----

Later there’s an incident at the stock exchange, which John suspects might have something to do with Barsad’s "great man." He really needs to find out this guy’s name.

He thinks it’s probably the big one in the red helmet, it would suit War’s sense of humour.

And then Batman arrives. John is mentally congratulating himself for helping to remove the man’s head from his ass, when Foley (stupid, idiotic Foley) makes the decision to chase after Batman instead. John could have very happily shot him in the face.

Although the look on Foley’s face when Batman _flies_  out of a dead end alley is almost worth it.

 

**War**

When things change - for the better - between Barsad and Bane, it is, of course, because of Talia. She comes to visit them after the mission at the stock exchange, because it might be the last time she can.

As Barsad leads her through the tunnels toward Bane (she hardly needs an escort, but Bane insists), he voices some of his concerns.

"It’s good that you’re here. He’s not the same without you," he says.

"Oh? And does that make you worry about the mission, Barsad?" She glances at him with a laughing smirk.

"No, he would never let anything get in the way of that. I worry for _him_ , though." Barsad thinks he might have overstepped his bounds, but he has to do something.

Talia stops and looks him in the eyes for a long moment, "You really do care for him, don’t you?"

"Of course. For both of you. You are the most remarkable people I’ve ever met." This is absolutely true, although Talia doesn’t know what a long, long time ‘ever met’ means.

Talia smiles  rather sweetly, "Perhaps you can be there for him when I cannot."

Barsad sighs, "I try, but he doesn’t trust anyone."

"Leave that to me," she says.

\----

Later, she calls him into Bane’s room. Talia is relaxed and smiling at him, but he can tell Bane is tense.

"Barsad, I’m going to ask you to help Bane with his mask when I cannot. It is difficult for him to do on his own, and he needs someone trustworthy to help him."

Bane glances sideways at her when she says trustworthy, but he nods.

She shows him what kind of drugs are inside the mask, how to change the capsules, check the pressure so neither too much nor too little of the drug is being delivered, and how to do basic maintenance. Bane sits quietly, but seems to relax at Barsad’s intense focus and intelligent questions.

Talia’s obvious approval of him certainly helps too.

After, Talia asks to be taken to the surface. She hugs Bane and kisses him beside the mask.

"Escort her to her apartment," Bane says, looking at Barsad.

Barsad is stunned. While many of the men know of Talia, none of them have been trusted to take her back to her apartment. They can escort her through the tunnels when she arrives, but Bane always takes her home.

Talia’s smile gets wider.

At the doorway to her home as Miranda Tate, she suddenly becomes serious.

"I am trusting you with a lot, Barsad. Bane is a hard man, but he needs no more pain in his life."

"No harm will come to him from me," Barsad will make sure of it, "And though he doesn’t need it, I will protect him while you cannot."

Talia hugs him hard, "Go well, brother."

"You as well, sister," and he smiles.

That night, Bane calls him into room and they talk about many things. Bane’s eyes are warm as they speak, and Barsad feels like a cat basking in the sun.

 

**Famine**

Selina breaks into Daggett’s house as one part petty revenge and one part to actually find her clean slate.

She sees Bane on the TV, and then she sees _Batman_. What is it with people coming out of the woodwork lately? First Bruce Wayne and now Batman?

Well, Selina’s reasonably sure she could kick Batman’s ass if he tries to take her in.

First, though, she’s going to kick Daggett’s. Just because.

Bane’s thugs show up, and she tries to get them to back off using Daggett - but apparently they don’t give a shit about him anymore.

And then Batman shows up like she’s some kind of damsel in distress.

Whatever, he can think what he wants.

When Bane shows up she gets a little more concerned, and decides to follow Batman into his (flying, seriously) car (and yes, the ability to fly doesn’t make it not a car). Seeing the city from above fills her with a bit of awe, but she’s recovered by the time they land.

She also gets a good sense of Batman. To be honest, he reminds her a lot of Bruce Wayne, although he’s more focused and driven.

Maybe Batman is to Bruce Wayne as Bane is to Miranda Tate?

Anyway, she pulls a vanishing act when he looks away, but he got most of what he was looking for anyway. This storm’s looking to be quite the hurricane.

\----

Later, Barsad knocks on her door, as Bane’s-right-hand Barsad, not as human-version-of-War Barsad.

"Are you supposed to be killing me or something?" She drawls.

"Of course not, Miss Kyle, that was what Daggett wanted, and he’s suffering from a case of being dead at the moment." He gives her a small grin. She finds it cute, although she suspects if she didn’t know him she would find it terrifying, "But Bane would like you to know that if the Batman should ask you to take him to Bane, we would appreciate it if you oblige."

"Really, now  - Bane wants a showdown with Batman? Seems a bit overconfident."

"Bane is not an arrogant man. If he believes he can defeat the Batman, he can."

"Well. If he asks, I think I could do a favour for an old friend." Selina looks at him slyly. "We are _friends_ , wouldn’t you say?"

He sighs, "What is it?"

"I’d prefer to keep on living. As Selina, I mean. Bane isn’t going to kill me after I bring Batman to him or something, is he?"

"I don’t think he cares one way or another, but I’ll tell him I think he should leave you alone."

She smiles and leans forward to kiss his cheek, "Thanks."

 

**Death**

He checks out some rumours, and discovers Bane. War’s "great man," a man with a steel mask over his mouth - and if you could believe everything you hear is some kind of unholy demon with inhuman strength.

Well, Bane’s no demon, but John can see why War might be interested in him.

He picks up Bruce Wayne and they talk. He knows Bruce won’t tell him everything he knows, and knows that by giving him more information he’s probably sending Batman into a situation he might not get out of, but he wants Bruce to like him.

The whole ‘Batman could be anyone’ thing strikes a chord in him. He’d always thought about helping the city like Batman, but he’d never thought he could _be_ Batman. Something to look into, after all this is done.

If whatever Bane and War are cooking doesn’t completely screw with that plan.

\----

He feels Daggett die at Bane’s hands, and knows it’s important. That it’s connected with all of this.

John just has to prove it.

That turns out to be pretty easy, Daggett wasn’t exactly hiding what he was doing. Why would he? It wasn’t suspicious until they knew something was going on underground. He waits until the body is found and then takes everything to see Gordon. With Foley being a stupid idiot, Gordon’s probably the only person who will see what he sees, and could maybe act on it.

Foley tries to bullshit like he’s actually been doing something useful (which he hasn’t), and John tries not to just take his soul right then and there when he calls him a hot head again.

Gordon probably saves Foley’s ass by promoting John to detective. At least he’ll be working for someone who will listen to him.

\----

That night, he wakes because Bruce Wayne is in a great deal of pain and could potentially die. He, as Death, races to his side and feels a rush of anger at seeing War and Famine. War he knows is working with Bane for almost the same reasons he wants to work with Bruce, but her. 

Her he’s pissed off at.

 

**Famine**

She finds Bruce Wayne actually just a little bit adorkable. Still an idiot rich boy, though.

Selina decides getting out of Gotham would be a good idea. She’s taking a risk doing it the "legitimate" way (that is, getting on a plane instead of just appearing somewhere else) but she feels like she should keep doing this as a human. Plus, she keeps hoping she can convince Jen to come with her, and suddenly popping away wouldn’t help with that at all.

Even worse, there’s way too many of Them in the city, and her suddenly turning incorporeal just to move somewhere else would probably unbalance things even more.

So, as a human then.

After doing her favour to War, that is.

She does feel a bit bad for Batman. He’s good but so is Bane, even if he wins he’ll probably get his ass kicked.

She takes him into the tunnels. Barsad was probably supposed to show her where to go, but of course he knows that she’s already been there. They take out a few guards before she lets him go ahead into the circular tower that is Bane’s main base of operations.

When the gate closes she feels a sense of dread, and Batman’s disappointed, but not surprised, look certainly doesn’t make her feel any better.

When Bane calls him Bruce Wayne, everything clicks and she feels even worse.

Of course Batman is Bruce Wayne, he wants exactly the same things. The mask he wears psychologically helps him focus, which is why she got a slightly different sense of what he wants, but he’s still the same.

She can’t help but keep watching, even when he’s losing.

It feels a bit like penance, for her betrayal.

Of course, the real penance comes later.

 

**War**

Barsad watches as Bane paces his room. He knows that Talia has decided to visit Bruce Wayne tonight, to gather information and to subtly push him where they want him. Bane knows she will probably use his attraction to her, and it agitates him.

Neither of them likes sending Talia into potential danger without protection, but she is their leader, and she has decided.

\----

When Batman comes to fight Bane, Barsad hovers worriedly, his physical self in the catwalks above, and the incorporeal one at Bane’s shoulder. He notices Selina has stayed too, maybe she cares more about Batman than even she knew.

Barsad knows how feelings like that can sneak up on you.

He needn’t have worried about Bane, though, he controls the fight easily.

When Bane breaks Wayne’s back, he sees Death appear at his side. He starts forward - Bane does not want Wayne to die yet - but realizes Death is at Wayne’s side like he is at Bane’s.

Death looks up from the body, and War realizes Death’s face is John’s, even like this.

War whispers to him, "Bane doesn’t want him to die yet, don’t worry."

"Yet? That part certainly worries me." Death looks a bit frantic, "I won’t let Bruce Wayne die."

War glances at Bane and wonders if this would be a betrayal, and decides it’s not, "I would worry more about the Commissioner. Bane wants Wayne to live, but he doesn’t need Gordon to."

Death looks at Famine, above them, "Why would you bring him here!?" he yells.

"I’m sorry, he asked and I... I’m sorry." She looks genuinely regretful.

Death glares at her, "Not good enough. I’ll be seeing you. Count on it."

And he’s gone.

\----

Barsad is left in charge of the remaining men while Bane takes Wayne to the pit. He feels bad for Death, who clearly cares about Wayne, but not guilty. Wayne made his own choices.

That Death blames Famine for Wayne’s failure is more interesting. He tells himself he wouldn’t irrationally blame Death if something happened to Bane, but it’s a shallow lie.

 

**Death**

His plan is kind of petty, but he figures Famine is a bit spooked. He’s still pretty mad at her, but not as much as the night before. When he figures out that she’s Selina Kyle, he figures she must be at least a little attached to her current life, or she wouldn’t have gotten nearly caught this many times.

So his plan is one part petty revenge and another part letting her know exactly how bad the whole situation is, since he doubts she knows about Pestilence or she would have rabbited much sooner.

Famine was always a little freaked out when they gathered in one place, said the things people craved started getting warped.

Well she’d just have to deal.

He drives around and just happens to be driving by when she’s out on the street catching a cab. Then he alerts the airport.

While he’s a little annoyed at the airport security’s incompetence, it turns out to be extremely satisfying to appear out of the crowd in front of her, and know that she knows exactly  why he’s doing this.

Their conversation is entirely truthful, although because of the public setting they can’t be as candid as they want. Selina really is afraid of Bane, although not because she thinks he might kill her.

The last part is more petty revenge.

"Did they kill him?" What he really means is ‘I kept him or would have kept him alive, but do you know how far they went? Do you know what your betrayal wrought?’

"I’m not sure." Her eyes are wet, and he can tell she regrets it.

Well, that’s a start.

"Oh, and Miss Kyle?"

"Yeah, what."

"Say hi to our mutual friend while you’re in Blackgate. I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you." He gives her his meanest smile.

He can tell when she realizes who he means, and knows that Pestilence would force her to stay in Gotham, purely because she wants to leave.

He whistles as he walks away, just to be extra annoying.

 

**Pestilence**

A few days later, he feels Death again - this time he’s sent the feeling of ‘present,’ and spiteful humour.

Hm.

Later, he feels Famine getting closer. Rumours start in the jail that a girl is getting sent to Blackgate. He slowly smiles. Well, what a nice present.

He doesn’t know what Famine goes by (and doesn’t really care - Famine is always Famine, and current appearance or name doesn’t change that ) but for the sake of their public faces he finds out.

Not that it’s hard, she’s a source of great interest among the rest of the prisoners.

"Selina Kyle," he says mildly as he sits next to her. Making expressions is annoying, so he typically adopts a blank, polite smile as his default one. While not always socially appropriate (not that he cares), it does well enough most of the time.

"Hi," she says shortly.

"Doctor Jonathan Crane, you may have heard of me." He watches her jaw clench. She’s just realizing how long he’s been in Gotham right under her unsuspecting nose. Such fun.

"I have. Scarecrow, right?"

He opens his lips slightly, so his smile bares his teeth, "Some might call me that. I must say I’m glad to see you again, our, ah, mutual friend indicated I might not have gotten the chance, if it wasn’t for him."

She raises herself up more stiffly, "You know crowds make me uncomfortable, Dr. Crane."

"Well, three is a crowd but I’d say four is more like a... party, wouldn’t you agree?"

"Not in the slightest," she says shortly, "I think I’ll retire to my cell, Dr. Crane, and will likely stay there for the foreseeable future."

"Well, another time then," he tightens his lips and crinkles his eyes to make his smile more genuine. He’s heard she has a nickname herself, "Catwoman," which certainly suits her: she’s quite the bristling cat at the moment.

She stands abruptly and walks away.

How rude, she didn’t even say goodbye.

 

**War**

The night before their occupation starts, Bane speaks quietly about Talia, who couldn’t be with them because she finishing some arrangements for Wayne Enterprises. They will see her the next day, but they won’t be able to speak with her, not how they want.

Barsad listens quietly to the story of a girl born in hell, who makes the leap no one else could, and becomes a warrior. He’d known the gist, of course, but hearing it from Bane makes it real in a way rumour never could.

He can also feel the stirring in his blood. This secret war is about to become very, very alive.

\----

The day comes.

Everything is well-planned, but there is still plenty to be done. The men are efficient and controlled in their preparations, but the tension is still thick. It’s the morning before the first battle, and blood is already in air.

Even when sides aren’t so clear cut, Barsad still tends to think of groups at war as armies, whether that’s a small group of mercenaries, or rebellious civilians, or an actual group of soldiers. His presence can’t decide who will win a battle or war, but the side he backs is more focused, its soldiers fighting longer and tiring slower.

Barsad feels Gotham’s army, the police officers, preparing to move, but they don’t even know if there's something to fight yet. Their thoughts are erratic and a mild feeling of terror spreads as their ideas about what’s lurking in the sewers become more and more outlandish. Though, probably not even close to what’s actually going to happen.

They’ll be mostly out of the picture pretty soon anyway.

\----

Getting the bomb goes well, doubtless aided by Talia’s earnest performance. She looks at them as she’s led away - sentimental, but it’s  probably the last time they’ll see each other until the end. He catches her eye and smiles.

\----

Bane asks him to stand at his back in the stadium, and he feels _pride_. How novel.

The moment the explosions start, and the ground begins to sink, he can feel the sides forming. Even those who won’t fight become part of a side, whether they like it or not. Gotham’s side is trapped or scattered, but not beaten.

John is certainly still out there, and Barsad can feel him as both a soldier of Gotham's army and as Death. Interesting.

\----

It’s his job is to talk to the men outside the city. He has a lot of fun, because he can see the man (who tries to call him "son" like he’s an errant child), stop cold when he gives his very best grin and tells him they’ll blow the city if anyone escapes.

The man probably doesn’t even realize it, but he’s effectively become part of Bane’s army, even if it’s under duress. He feels the ranks swell as the news spreads, and feels powerful.

There’s plenty of wars going on everywhere, all the time, but he never feels the rush of blood, the power in people standing and fighting together quite as much as when he’s in the thick of it. For so many years he went from battle to battle, and his desire to stay with Bane has meant he’s been missing the sensation of a live war.

It may or may not be making his grin slightly more crazed. Hm, probably why the man looks so scared. Or maybe that’s the possibility of explosion, so hard to know.

He passes the sensation of the spark of war to Death, and gets a frustrated ‘not now’ from him. Well, a lot of people died, and the police are in shambles, he’s probably a bit busy. Or... oh right, the Commissioner. Now that the war is like a living being, he can get a better sense of the man - he’s quite the battered general, and he truly cares for people of the city.

Who are dying. He doesn’t feel their deaths like Death probably does, but he does feel them as lost soldiers.

The thought of war casualties makes him a bit giddy, frankly. He needs to get a hold of himself.

In five months or less, Talia and Bane will be dead.

He sobers.

 

**Death**

The morning when the news of a kidnapping from Wayne Enterprises comes in, John just knows everything’s going to shit. The whole business at the stock exchange was messy and public, but could have been (and was) interpreted as a one-off. Bane and War are showing their hands now, revealing their location beyond a doubt. Something bad is going to come from this.

At least it got Foley off his ass.

Sending everyone to look for Bane seems like a good plan, but John still feels uneasy. They’ve shown their hand, wouldn’t they have to know the cops would jump on it? After so long being ‘at peace,’ Gordon and Foley can't risk letting this play out too long.

John would rather be helping them out, but he goes to track down the Daggett leads anyway. The construction worker’s face doesn’t tip him off, because John still finds it hard to think in "faces," but he remembers coming into contact (in the physical sense) with this man’s soul before, and that’s what registers.

When he kills them, it’s something of a shock.

He’s Death, sure, but he’s never actually killed anyone. People die for a whole bunch of reasons, but no one ever dies from death.

Except when Death kills them, apparently.

He tosses the gun away, slightly sickened by the sensation of shooting the gun, feeling the bullet kill them, and taking their souls, knowing that they might have lived if not for him.

Killing people really, really sucks. He doesn’t know how anyone does it.

Suddenly there’s no time to think, he knows the cops are heading into a trap, knows he probably can’t even get them out in time, but has to try.

Then the explosions start, and his head is spinning - people of Gotham, people he likes and cares about, dying; the street exploding around him; his senses expanding uncontrollably until he feels every blade of withering grass in the city.

That’s when his car flips and he comes abruptly back to himself.

Once his head is on straight again, he can’t help but remember what War said about Gordon. He couldn’t get the cops out, and he probably can’t help them now, but maybe he can save just one person and that’ll make up for it.

He clutches at Gordon’s soul and holds it while he races to the hospital. As long as Gordon isn’t dying, he still has a chance.

As it turns out, he didn’t need to worry. When he heard the gunshots, he’d panicked, even though he knew Gordon hadn’t died - maybe they decided to kidnap him, or maybe they missed but would try again, maybe he was wrong and they _had_ got Gordon but he was holding the man’s soul too tightly to know.

The two men’s bodies on the ground were a relief, although the fact that he didn’t realize they were dead because he was so concentrated on Gordon was disturbing.

John takes Gordon back to his apartment. Barsad might be loyal to Bane, but he wouldn’t deliberately put John in danger, so no one will come looking.

On the way Gordon tells him what happened in the stadium, and they listen to the announcements on the radio. The city begins to darken as the power is cut off, plunging Gotham into an eerie, quiet darkness.

Even at its bleakest, Gotham has never been quiet, and that’s perhaps the most frightening part of all of this.

 

**Famine**

Everyone hears about what happened in the stadium, but she knows it hasn’t really sunk in yet. The workers at Blackgate probably think it’ll all blow over, that Bane isn’t serious, that the military will come in and take him out. Whatever. Something. Selina knows that they’re wrong - Bane is very serious, and War wouldn’t be backing him if it wouldn’t work.

Gotham is in this mess for the long haul.

Selina thinks she should probably get out at this point, abandon this body, abandon Jen... but she can’t help but feel guilty for her role in all this. And she’s still way too fucking attached to this body. She’s a hot cat burglar who used to live in a shit apartment and frequently gets into trouble she almost can’t get out of...

But she feels like she’s _Selina Kyle_ almost as much as she’s Famine, and she just can’t convince herself to let go yet.

Not until she absolutely has to.

\----

Bane comes to the prison and breaks everyone out. He makes a remarkably good revolutionary dictator, actually, she can see why Miranda Tate (whoever she actually is) has him as the frontman for this crazy plot of hers.

Selina passes Crane as she leaves and resolutely doesn’t look at him. She feels a bit resentful. Here she is, living as a human for less than a decade and she’s already far too attached. But Crane, stupid, condescending Pestilence, lives as a human for more than twenty years and comes out of it almost the same.

It’s not fair.

She goes to find Jen first thing, and then the insanity starts. Dragging people out of cushy hotel rooms and apartments and mansions. It’s everything she thought she wanted to happen. Selina had somehow not thought of the rich as _people_ because their desires were selfish, but when she looks around the trashed rooms that used to hold a living, breathing individual who had wants and desires of their own, however selfish they were...

She feels regret.

Selina wonders how Death thinks about death, especially now that he’s John. Does he regret people dying? Only certain people?

It’s hard to get herself together, but she carves out a territory in Gotham. She can’t bring herself to be "nice" or "kind" or "helpful," but the good people who are in her territory know she won’t beat them up or steal from them or turn them in if she happens to find out they used to be rich or a cop or anything like that.

As Famine, she helps people push aside their more dangerous desires. People can want food, or shelter, or freedom, or anything like that, but there’s a few people who seriously decide _I want to get off this island, fuck the rest of these people_  - that kind of thing she quashes. There’s also the people who want so many things they can’t have anymore and it makes them fall into depression - she tries to help them as best she can. Suppresses their want for so many unachievable things, and gets them to focus on wanting what is within their reach.

In truth, Selina feels a bit paralyzed. She can do all that but she doesn’t even really feel like she’s helping  - she’s, what, making people more complacent? Helping them survive? And for what? There must be some kind of endgame here, Gotham can’t just stay in this perpetual state of tension forever, until someone screws up and they decide to take Gotham off the map.

\----

She talks to Barsad sometimes. They find each other on the roof of an old warehouse.

"So this was your plan? Take over the city and then just... wait?"

He smiles out at the city, "We’re waiting, but also fighting. There’s a war on, and the armies still clash, even if people don’t always notice. This war is fought in alleyways, in darkness, with subterfuge and secrets - and guns, too."

She doesn’t say anything for a while.

"Who’s Miranda Tate?" she asks.

He stiffens.

"I just noticed, before all this, that you were hiding her. You wouldn’t do that if she wasn’t important."

He turns to look at her, "It’s a war of secrets, Selina. Despite your status as a criminal, you’re not on my side."

She snorts, "Who’s side am I on then? I’m not rebelling, doesn’t that make me a default Bane supporter?"

He tilts his head and stares at her, "You’ll figure it out, I’m sure." Then he leaves.

"What does that even mean?" she shouts after him.

 

**Death**

When Bane starts... epic speech-ing from Blackgate about Harvey Dent, John can see the tension in Gordon’s body.

Of course, John knows exactly what happened to Harvey Dent, and certainly doesn’t blame Gordon, but he also knows Gordon needs someone to blame him.

And if John _doesn’t_ blame him, at least for a while, he’ll never actually trust that John is being honest with him. After all, John’s built his personality around being a "hot head" - and if a hot head doesn’t get angry when a man he admires gets knocked off his pedestal, well, something is clearly up.

So he gets angry. He certainly has a lot to be angry about.

He storms out, goes to check on the orphanage (the boys are fine - actually they’re probably doing a lot better than some people; they’re used to the hard life), drops a note down to the officers underground (no one’s even told them what’s going on), and finds himself sitting on the roof of his apartment building trying to decide how long he should be "mad" at Gordon before he can go back in and help him.

Barsad walks out of the stairwell.

"What’s up," says John. He’s not really mad at Barsad for anything. He doesn’t know how to get mad at War for being War.

Plus his devotion to Bane is kind of adorable, even if John isn’t a huge fan of Bane at the moment (well, he did break Batman’s back and take over his city, fair is fair). It’s slightly comforting that if John is becoming ridiculously human, at least Barsad is too.

"Nothing. I’m glad you and the Commissioner are all right."

John gives him a disbelieving look.

"For your sake, naturally. Also it would be a little strange if he was lethally shot but did not die because of your... attachment."

John snorts, "What, like you wouldn’t stop Bane from dying if you could? What are you going to do if the bomb goes off anyway? I get the feeling Bane isn’t planning to be out of the blast radius."

Barsad looks down, and he face draws into a frown, "I’m... not sure what I will do."

John sighs, "Yeah. I’ve been having that feeling a lot lately."

 

**Pestilence**

He takes a deep breath once he’s outside Blackgate.

Ah, terror in the air. How sweet.

Bane said he was going to hold courts to judge the rich (such as they will be), and War is in charge of establishing them. He catches War’s eye and tilts his head in question. Becoming a judge in these show courts suits his particular brand of vanity, and he does have an ‘in.’

He finds a place large enough, and piles all the cabinets and books and papers together. It’s not a throne of skulls, but it’ll do.

His first guest  is a sniveling, shaking man fully _infected_ by his own fear.

And Crane maintains his mild, polite smile while he sentences him, because it makes even the spectators afraid of his ruthlessness.

He supposes if he were human, he’d probably be considered a psychopath. Although since he’s not, he’s more just killing the sick, fearful little humans for his own amusement.

Initially, everyone is sentenced to death, and brought outside the room to be shot (Crane doesn’t want blood in his court room, it ruins the atmosphere). As the weather turns colder, though, he sees the half-frozen water around Gotham and has an idea.

A deadly exile. Hm.

Soon ‘exile’ by being forced to walk out on the ice is probably more feared than getting shot, and the men who were assigned to assist him like it better because they don’t have to waste bullets.

So it’s a win-win.

While he’s enjoying the general air of terror in the courts, he’s a little annoyed at Death. Death (whatever he’s calling himself now) is doing his very best to sabotage some of minor disease outbreaks Pestilence has been causing (and really, they are minor - only a few dozen people would have died at the most). Really, Death’s become quite the little human, all caring for his fellow _man_ (only they aren’t his fellow man, since he’s not human), and taking care of _children_ (children are only interesting because they tend to die more quickly, in Pestilence’s opinion), and just generally being a terrible example of a being called Death.

Someone should really strip him of his... being. Vocation?

Not important.

Though to be honest, he’s starting to find some people... admirable in their lack of fear in the court. It is not that they are not afraid to die, but that they are not afraid to die defiantly. Their lack of fear is interesting only in it’s irregularity, but still interesting.

He tends to put them out on the ice rather than shooting them. The whole process of making yourself walk toward your own death often manages to inspire more fear in these individuals than lining up against a wall.

There were two that didn’t feel fear, even then, and those ones are interesting enough that he makes note of their names.

It’s strange, since he can barely make himself remember the human names of Death, War and Famine - but these people were interesting, so perhaps they deserve some of his remembrance.

 

**Death**

They settle into a strange kind of routine. John, as a rookie cop who has never been on television, has to do a lot of the public legwork. He gets food for both the cops and the orphans, with the help of Father Reilly, some of the older kids, and some of the other young cops that happened to not get trapped underground.

John gets a bit of a network together, to help people out. It includes a lot of young kids, which he feels bad about, but people tend to ignore them most of the time. They’re skittish around the other cops, but they’ll work for John because he’s "one of them."

Which isn’t a scary notion at all, right?

Even though Gordon is still their leader, mostly, John’s become something of a public face - although most people probably (hopefully) don’t realize he’s a cop. His network helps move supplies to where people need it; tells people where shelter is, if they’re squatting somewhere unsafe; and even cooks up medicine for people who are sick. He gives basic self-defense tips (mostly grip breaks, dirty tricks, and the advice _run really fast_ ), and tries to get people to move in groups when they’re out in the open.

Being Death helps with that, too. He’ll feel someone get wounded, and send someone to "check" the area. Some of those people still die, but a lot of them might have bled out before anyone found them if not for him. And, while he can’t feel sickness in the same way Pestilence can, he can feel the possibility of death from illness creeping up on people, and tries to help them as much as he can.

He ends up having to kill a few more people - not everyone can deal with the constant terror and bleak outlook of the occupation, and decide they might as well start killing everyone they can, as a mercy.

Once, John felt a child die, and found the girl’s father standing over her body, crying, but sure he was sending his kids to heaven. John shot him before he could kill the girl’s younger brother and sister, and took them to Reilly with a grim face.

Criminals roamed the streets, but they mainly beat people up or took them to the courts if they thought they were one of the "elite," and for the most part left children alone. They were bad people, but weren’t as frightening as the monster hiding in the average person’s brain, just waiting to break out.

John took up the mantle of judge and executioner unwillingly, but what could he do? There had to be some kind of order, and there weren’t jails to stick people in. There was no Batman, and even if there was, then what? Batman caught the criminals the police couldn’t, but he still relied on the justice system as a punishment and deterrent. What would he do if that system no longer existed?

So John did his best. He didn’t bother with minor crimes, and instead focused on the big stuff. For those who had cracked under the pressure, he quietly killed them. Sometimes with a gun, in an unknown alley; and sometimes, to make it less traumatic, he would simply force souls On as they slept. Others would find them in the morning, and assume they died because of an illness.

He did his best to enforce minor rules as well. People who stole were blacklisted from the network - they would have to get their own food allotment, and lose access to the best shelters and medicine left in the city.

It was a pretty good system, but John still wasn’t sure if it was the right one.

Gordon knows he’s  "helping" people, but John never tells him to what extent.

He wished there was someone who could tell him he was doing something right.

 

**War**

Barsad’s days are busy. Bane is the frontman of their operation, but there are a lot of logistics to work out and Barsad spends his days delivering orders, organizing people, and sometimes getting to fight people. He’s always played the common soldier in wars, so being a right-hand man is new and different.

And he counts the days.

They both know exactly when the bomb will go off, and the idea of Bane’s death becomes ever more painful. Though they are both busy, Barsad takes care of Bane’s mask everyday, and this gives both of them time to relax in trusted company. He feels like Bane trusts him now on his own merit, rather than just because of Talia’s opinions of his character.

Bane trusts Talia implicitly, but he is also a man of intellect rather than emotion - he trusts a man far more  if he  proves himself, rather than relying on a hunch or instinct that a man is trustworthy. Barsad begins to feel more and more like he is betraying Bane by not telling him everything, even though he knows he can’t.

The closer the day of the explosion comes, the more certain Barsad is that he can’t let Bane die, and the greater his despair becomes that he can do nothing to stop it. He tries to console himself that Bane is dying for a reason, a reason he wants to die for, for Talia and her cause.

He still can’t help but think it’s one thing to risk dying to work for a cause, and another to deliberately walk to your death for it. He thinks it's a stupid reason to die.

He has fleeting thoughts, flights of fancy, thoughts of begging Death to spare them alone - but even if Death was willing to do it for him, he isn’t sure Death would save Bane, the man who destroyed Gotham.

He still visits John, and chokes back his insane thoughts. He still talks to Selina, occasionally, although conversations with both are about nothing in particular.

He watches over Talia as best he can. Though Bane’s men know her face, the prisoners who filled their ranks do not, and he doesn’t want one of them hurting her by accident.

The armies still fight, but soon they will both be gone, and the war will be over.

War is sure he is already lost.

 

**Death**

His introduction to Miranda Tate and Lucius Fox is when he’s looking for someone he thinks is about to go on a killing spree. Oh, and he's also looking for high ground - but there’s a lot of tall buildings in Gotham, his reason for this building in particular is the crazy person. He’s just outside the room when one of the men staying on the top floor pulls out a gun and points it at Fox, yelling.

John slams the door open and shoots him right in the head.

Everyone in the room looks a bit shell shocked.

"Sirs, Ma’am, is everyone alright?" he asks in his very best authoritative voice.

Tate, who he recognizes from the news, recovers first, "Yes. I believe we are just fine."

"Right. My name’s John Blake and I am, er, here to help. Can you tell what you’re all doing up here?"

And that’s when he notices that Tate’s soul is shrouded by War, and it makes him suspicious. He finds out she runs Wayne Enterprises and he guesses that with Bruce gone she’s probably considered the symbolic leader of "their side." Shrouding not only hides an individual from beings like Death, but also helps prevent that person from being found by, in this case, the opposing side. War used to sometimes shroud the leaders of both sides in a conflict, to make the war last longer.

It still bothers him because it doesn’t explain why War would help ‘their side’ in any way.

He also finds out the bomb will explode, detonated or not, and the clock starts ticking.

\----

He actually ends up quite liking both Fox and Tate - or Miranda, as she asks him to call her. Fox seems mildly disapproving of his methods (well, the first two seconds of their acquaintance was John killing someone, so that’s probably part of it), but still appreciative of his help.

Interacting with Miranda is strange for him, because he can’t see her soul and has to learn about her in a purely human way, learning her expressions and tones of voice in order to interpret her. He’s not sure how people stand being so unsure of everyone’s real intentions  all the time, but supposes they don’t know anything else.

In a way, she reminds him of War (although that impression might helped along by War’s continual presence wherever Miranda is) - she seems calm and unassuming, but has a strong personality and a keen wit. She doesn’t seem to judge John, and when he has some time they have long conversations.

"You know, you remind me of a friend of mine," he says one night.

"Oh?" Her smile is teasing.

"I guess you could say we grew up together, although we went our separate ways for a while. Different paths, I guess."

"Is he inside the city?" she asks.

"Yeah," John laughs, "He’s always where the action is."

"And I remind you of him?" she laughs.

"Well, I think it’s just how you are, you know. Interesting. Important."

"I don't think anyone is important in this city. Or at least, no one will be, in the end." She doesn’t seem like the prospect concerns her.

John suddenly sobers, still unsure about how he’s keeping order in the city, and still very unsure what he would do if the bomb went off. Would he let everyone die? Make everyone live and deal with the consequences? Only save those he cares for?

"Have you ever had to make a choice, and you’re not sure what the right one is?" he asks.

Miranda pauses, "Does this have anything to do with the rumours I’ve heard about you? I hear you are really keeping order in the city."

John flinches, wondering which rumours she’s heard, exactly, "A little bit. But not just that. Let’s call it a hypothetical question."

"Hm, well I’ve rarely been unsure of what choice I should make, no. I suppose, though, if I was faced with a hard one, I would do what is... just."

"I’m not sure there’s a just answer, in this case. Just bad ones."

She smiles at him, "Now you’ve got me curious."

He shakes his head. "Never mind, just... being philosophical, I guess."

She looks at him intently, and suddenly he feels like behind her ever-mild expression, there's a mind like a steel trap. He also gets the feeling she’s a little more than just "curious."

 

**Famine**

Bruce fucking Wayne.

She wants to beat the shit out of him for... well, worrying  her. Maybe. Or else just because he’s annoying. That has to be it.

When she hears that the bomb is going off, she can’t help but think of the people she’s come to know, who she’s been protecting, even if she tells herself she’s just defending her territory. Jen. The kid with the apple. The family of four who live in the same apartment they did before all of this, and keep hope alive.

She avoids thinking about them dying, and concentrates on helping Wayne. Not, of course, because she cares - that would be silly - but because she doesn’t like to break deals, and he did give her the clean slate (about five months late).

\----

Selina decides not to tell Wayne about Miranda Tate. First, she doesn’t have any proof, and he may trust her to fight with him but she’s not sure he’ll take her word for it. Second, she’s a little busy to have a big conversation at the moment.

She also thinks that the fact that Tate has managed to hide herself this long is pretty impressive.

 

**War**

He cringes a bit when they get word from Talia about Commissioner Gordon’s plan and location. He has to close his eyes in regret for a moment when he’s chosen to lead a group of men to take them in.

He knows when Batman reveals himself, before his symbol is even lit, because he can feel the sides shifting. The opposing army is growing, the police must have been rescued. The war is evolving rapidly, and he fears this change will not bode well for Talia’s plan.

Bane’s obvious surprise and alarm only increases his own sense of their impending failure.

But he will stand with Bane until the end, so he readies himself for battle.

 

**Death**

The time of the explosion comes closer, but everything really gets going when Barsad arrests Gordon.

John kind of wants to kill him. He decides he’ll do his absolute best if Gordon dies.

Instead, he goes forward with a (much smaller scale) plan to get the policemen out of the sewers. He really needs to stop ignoring what souls are doing around him when he’s focused on something real and physical.

It would certainly make him less easy to sneak up on.

When he’s kneeling in front of them, he’s one part scared that this is it, the end of Robin John Blake, and another part deciding whether he should just force all of their souls On right there. He certainly can’t take all of them down physically.

And then Batman shows up. He _really_ has to start paying more attention to what souls are around him. He chaffs at not being able to stand with the other officers this time either, but knows someone has to try to get people off the island.

 

**Pestilence**

Jim Gordon gets ushered into his court room with a bunch of other cops.

Death is going to be angry with War for that one, he thinks gleefully.

Pestilence remembers Jim Gordon. Batman may have caught him, but Jim Gordon put him and handcuffs and stuck him in jail.

Well, he seems like he’s experienced a bit of that himself, now.

And Gordon’s not afraid. He certainly doesn’t want to die, and has plenty of reasons to live, but he’s not afraid to stand before the court, he’s not afraid to lead his men, and he’s not afraid to hold himself to a better standard than anyone else.

A strangely pure man, despite everything.

When Gordon rejects the possibility of exile, Pestilence pauses. If he says the word, they'll gun him down in the courtroom, and that’ll  be the end of it.

"Death... by exile!"

With exile, at least, there’s a chance. For what, he doesn’t know. For the man to fear? For him falter?...For him to live?

He isn’t sure what he wants to happen.

 

**War**

When Batman and Bane fight again, Bane doesn’t control the battle. Bane’s entire focus is on the personal fight, as it often is in the heat of it, so Barsad forces himself to watch the big picture. It’s hard, though, because he worries for Bane this time. Wayne is certainly stronger than he was, but more than that, Bane is unsure of himself. He is fighting a man who escaped hell when he could not.

He sees Bane swinging wildly, not the controlled motions he usually makes, and see that a piece of the mask is hanging. Barsad shudders - the drug won’t have worn off this quickly, but Bane’s rage and desire to finish Batman quickly has caused him to lose control.

They crash into City Hall, where Talia is waiting. Barsad can’t get to them through all the fighting, so he forces himself to take the report of a man sent from the group watching the bomb.

He has to do something, and soon.

 

**Death**

On the bus, War appears beside him. It's not Barsad-the-human, but even incorporeal, War's face looks like Barsad's, where it used to look like nothing. His Barsad-face looks anguished.

"Please, John."

"What?"

"Don't let them die."

"Bane? Wait - them? Who else… oh, of course. Miranda Tate. I was wondering why you were shrouding her."

"Yes, Bane and Talia. Please."

Death clenches his fists." And why should I do that when you almost killed Commissioner Gordon?"

"You know I am sorry about the Commissioner. I couldn’t betray them by not bringing him in, they would never have trusted me again. Please," War is begging now,"I couldn't protect them and she's gone after the bomb and Bane is… Please. Brother."

Death starts at the title.

"We are like family aren’t we?" War is struggling to convince him, yes, but also being truthful, "Like Bane and Talia have become to me."

Death looks away. "If the bomb goes off I won’t save them but... they won't die before then."

War lets out a sigh that sounds like a sob,"Thank you, brother, thank you."

"Don’t thank me. If Bane and Talia are your family, then Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon are mine. I won’t let them die either."

War nods,"Of course. And your family is mine, brother, no more harm will come to them from me, after this. Or from Bane and Talia. I'll convince them somehow."

Death gives a wry grin, "I suppose you want me to return the sentiment. Fine then, _brother_ , I'll attempt to keep them out of jail."

"All of this assumes the bomb doesn't go off."

"Naturally." Death suddenly sucks in a breath, "Bane's been hit, with what feels like a canon. Talk about overkill."

War looks desperate again, "He's dead?"

"No, he's in a lot of pain but I'm keeping his soul in his body. He won't succumb to his wounds. You should probably go help him, though."

"Barsad was shot."

"As far as everyone else is concerned, you're just another one of Bane's guys. They probably didn't notice you get hit in particular." Death smirks,"The benefits of anonymity."

"Talia probably knows, though. She kept going, but she saw." War looks anxious,"What if she says something about it?"

"Well, you got better, didn't you?" Death laughs."I wouldn't worry, if they're family they'll forgive a few quirks."

"I'm not sure being immortal counts as a quirk," But he laughs too. He claps Death's shoulder, and a shiver of sensation transfers to John,"Thank you again, brother."

Then he's gone, and John returns his attention to keeping the boys calm.

 

**War**

He goes to Bane’s side, remanifesting Barsad’s body to kneel beside him. First, he checks the mask - Talia fixed some of the damage, but she didn’t have enough time to do proper maintenance. He doesn’t want Bane to be in too much pain, even though he’s unconscious.

Then he checks Bane’s chest. The armour was able to take some of the damage (otherwise he would probably have a hole all the way through him), but also did damage of its own when it warped and broke. Barsad’s body is new and clean, so he picks out the pieces of metal and cloth - he doesn’t have to worry about Bane bleeding out.

Bane probably needs an actual doctor, but his knowledge of battlefield medicine will have to do. They’d brought some medical supplies with them when they holed up here, and he bandages Bane’s wounds as best he can. Some of his ribs are broken, but his lungs sound alright, so Barsad decides not to wrap them so Bane can breathe better.

He goes outside, and manages to find two of their original group still alive and well enough to help him. Using a large piece of scrap metal on the street, he drags Bane onto it and the three of them carry him to the nearest apartment building, up the stairs and inside a room with a heavy door.

It’ll have to be safe enough for now.

Almost as soon as he’s done, Death’s presence washes over him, and he suddenly knows where Talia is, dying. Death assures him of his continued support, but Barsad feels the need to hurry. Even if hardly anyone knows the truth about Talia, they could check her pulse, or else find where he’s put Bane. They are all too exposed.

There is a bright light, off in the distance - the bomb has exploded over the bay, and the city will not die.

The city is also very distracted, so he’d better make good use of the opportunity.

When he finds her, she is unconscious and barely breathing, her snapped neck restricting her airflow. He carefully repositions her head, and splints the bone so her head won’t move around too much.

Her, at least, he can take the the hospital if needed. He carries her to Bane, and lays them side by side. He checks his splint, which is straight, and can only hope there isn’t damage to the spinal cord.

After that, he’s not quite sure what to do.

 

**Famine**

She’s not sure why she asks Wayne to run away with her. Really, she isn’t. He’s an idiot rich boy with a hero complex, what’s attractive about that? Also, fuck War. He knew this whole time that she was accidentally on Wayne’s side and didn’t tell her? Asshole.

Selina is almost positive she’s going to leave after blowing the passage, right up until she turns around and starts heading back. Looks like Wayne’s little motivational speech got to her more than she thought.

Though, she does feel no small amount of satisfaction for getting to save Wayne’s ass. She feels a teeny bit bad about Bane, if only because War clearly cares about him, but mostly satisfied at getting to blast him into a wall.

She also feels a great deal of satisfaction fighting beside Wayne and using his fancy toys.

Her heart feels like it’s climbed up into her throat as he flies away, and sits there when the bomb explodes over the bay.

It stays right up until she walks into her apartment to find him sitting on the couch.

Looks like they get to run away after all.

She smiles.

 

**Death**

In the aftermath, John has to take a moment to just breathe, acutely feeling his human body and human relief after the heart-pounding moments leading up to the bomb’s explosion. He feels strained, in all senses. Though the battle is over, he's still tightly holding two souls, straining to keep Talia’s in particular from slipping away. He controls the barrier between life and death, but giving life isn't usually his area.

Slowly, slowly he can feel them stabilize. They can still die, of course, but they aren’t in imminent danger of it at the moment, thanks to Barsad’s efforts. Bruce, too, is still alive, somewhere. He relaxes, and turns to smile at Father Reilly.

They are all going to be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also on tumblr at saeadame.tumblr.com


End file.
